In Conversation

Polymerupdate : Tell us something about the initial start up of your family business. How were the early years like ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : My father Mr. D. Tainwala was in the trading of polymers and was also involved in the construction business. Along with my brother, he started a company called Tainwala Chemicals and Plastics in 1985. We were also involved into manufacture of personal care products like Fresh ones (wet tissue brand) and Casper mosquito repellants.

Polymerupdate : When did you join the family business and tell us some of the new developments after you joined ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : After having passed my B.Tech (Electronics) in 1989, I joined the business. After my joining, we put up a sheet extrusion line imported from Austria. I can proudly say that this was the first extrusion line put up in India at the time which could extrude 0.25 mm to 30 mm sheets of PVC. Today we have three more extrusion lines in operation. We are producing sheets of PVC which consists of 60 percent of our production output, ABS, HIPS, Polycarbonate, PP and PE.

Polymerupdate : Was it a smooth sailing for you after you had started the first extrusion line ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : It was not all smooth sailing and we did experience some initial difficulties when we started. The market till then was dominated by laminated sheets. We were the pioneers in extruding plastic sheets of 0.25 mm to 30 mm thickness with a width of 1.3 metres. At that time, we were the pioneers in the market for supplying plastic sheets of 1.3 mm thickness. Marketing for the sheets was a problem as nobody could believe that sheets of such thickness could exist. Also there was no storage space available at that time for stocking of such wide sheets.

Polymerupdate : What measures were undertaken by you to overcome those difficulties ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : I started visiting our customers personally to persuade them to buy the 1.3 mm wide sheets. It took me a year to convince our customers of the utility of these sheets. After this, I personally went to Austria for a period of 3 months and took training in the whole science of compounding and extruding PVC. After putting in all these efforts, I can proudly say that Tainwala brand of sheets today are no.1 in the market.

Polymerupdate : Can you tell us some of your other companies under the Tainwala group ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : Apart from Tainwala Chemicals & Plastics (India) Ltd, we had a company called Tainwala Polycontainers Ltd. which were the second largest suppliers of large Blow Moulding drums of 200 liters in India. We sold the company to Time Technoplast Ltd in July 2006. We also have a company called Abhishri packaging under the Tainwala Group which manufactures luggage using PP and PC. The plant for manufacturing the luggage pieces was started in March 2006 and now we manufacture 20,000 pieces per month. The polymer consumption for this plant is around 80 to 100 tons. 90 percent of the production of luggage pieces at Abhishri Packaging is meant for the export market while the remaining 10 percent is meant for the local market. We also have a consumer care company by the name of Tainwala Personal care Products Pvt. Ltd under which we manufacture fresh ones (wet tissues) and Casper mosquito repellants.

Polymerupdate : Please elaborate on your tie up with Samsonite ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : We formed a joint venture with Samsonite called Samsonite India Ltd for the manufacture of luggage pieces. The name was changed to Samsonite South Asia Pvt. Ltd in 1996 and production was started a year later. Today, the company has a turnover of Rs. 400 crores .  

Polymerupdate : Where are your office located and where do you export your products ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : We have a Pan India marketing setup. The group offices are located in Mumbai and Delhi. We export to countries in Asia, Far East, Middle East and Africa.

Polymerupdate : As an experienced professional, what do you feel are the difficulties faced by the industry ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : India is a global manufacturer of polymers and will be a net exporter of polymer products for the next 10 years. The production of machinery for processing of plastics in India needs further advancement. Another major problem that the industry faces today is the shortage of skilled manpower. I feel that technical degrees in polymers should be introduced and these degrees should be R&D based. With the industry entering a booming stage, an institute for Polymer research should be established in India.

Polymerupdate : What advice would you give to new entrepreneurs wishing to enter the industry ?

Mr. Rakesh Tainwala : I would advise those who are wishing to enter the industry to have a proper choice of the product they wish to trade in along with a proper process choice. They should not go into standalone ventures as it could prove to be a risky proposition and should tie up with a bigger company.